Lets talk about Sluggers!

JC11 - good post, nice to see the perspectives first hand from players... You were not demeaning or degrading toward your competition and you explained your reasoning well...

quote:

Originally posted by Flying Dutchman:
JC11 - good post, nice to see the perspectives first hand from players... You were not demeaning or degrading toward your competition and you explained your reasoning well...

I agree........

JC11--curious.... What pitch or sequence did you find successful against him?

I'm not sure which player you're referring to (Palma or Morgan), but I'm assuming Morgan, if not let me know and I'll be happy share the sequence on Palma...

For Morgan, I knew pretty well he was a dead on fastball hitter. If I missed and kept the ball over the plate he'd square it up pretty well. Not to say that he has a hole, because he definitely doesn't, but there is a drop-off on his ability to hit a good curveball (just like 99% of all high school hitters) and just from the scouting reports we saw on him I kinda knew if I could get ahead in the count 0-2, 1-2, there'd be a good chance I could get him to chase a curveball out of the zone. Based off of that I just tried to pound him in on the hands with the fastball and once I got ahead drop in curves repeatedly and make him chase. Over the course of the game he made some adjustments, as did I, and I think he recognized I was going to try and get ahead with the fastball early; especially on the hands (I threw hard enough it was tough for anyone to really turn on the ball). I think it was in his 3rd or 4th at bat where he was looking for that first pitch fastball in, and it was in that at bat where he ultimately got a single.

The one thing that is constant for facing all the elite hitters (no matter what level) is that if you fall behind your chance of getting hit hard dramatically increases. I felt like if I got ahead of him and made him hit with a defensive mentality in those counts (0-2, 1-2) then I'd have a shot to be successful. Obviously it's much easier said than done, and it was far from "smooth sailing" pitching to that lineup.

JC11--Outstanding analysis. Thank you. I was referring to Palma but I'm sure the approach is similar.

I have a young pitcher and will pass this experience to him.

jc11, who did you pitch for? Was it a patriot district high school? There were certainly other good hitters in that district, who else gave you trouble???

I actually played in the concorde- only time I faced West Springfield was last year in the region semi finals. In terms of the quality hitters I faced there honestly are probably too many to count. Top to bottom the region has a ton of offensive depth...

According to all region stats from last year Palma had 7 homers which tied with a South County kid for the most in the region. Isn't Fairfax one of the smallest field in the Northern Region? I'm sure he won't sneak up on anyone this year...Still very impressive...

Did anyone mention Bondurant 2011 (sp) from South County?

G-monstah,
I see he was a soph last year. What kind of stats did he have? Is he still at SC?

Anyone know of any 2013 that has the potential to be an impact slugger?

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Originally posted by 13LHPdad:
G-monstah,
I see he was a soph last year. What kind of stats did he have? Is he still at SC?

I know he was one of the only kids to hit a homer off of Wahl. He was also 1st team All District, which is pretty impressive for a Soph. Other than that I do not know of his season stats. To my knowledge he is still at South County.

Luke is a great player - one of about five who also participated in the Commonwealth Games for the North Team. Hits it hard.

quote:

Originally posted by greenmonstah:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by 13LHPdad:
G-monstah,
I see he was a soph last year. What kind of stats did he have? Is he still at SC?

I know he was one of the only kids to hit a homer off of Wahl. He was also 1st team All District,QUOTE]

Enough said..............

I got these stats from last years' all region first and second teams (obviously stats can be biased, but regardless). Keep in mind the grades of the players will be one year higher this year.

Adam Forrer, T.C. Williams, Jr. -- .521 BA, HR, 8 3B*, 21 RBI, 15 SB, 37 H
Luke Bondurant, South County, So. -- .565 BA, 3 HR, 9 2B, 2 3B, 18 RBI, 4 Ks in 46 AB
Riley Beiro, McLean, Jr. -- .393 BA, 2 HR, 11 2B, 13 RBI, 7 HBP, 14-for-16 SB; 1.000 fielding average, 2 outfield assists
Matt Kilby, T.C. Williams, Jr. -- .514 BA, 5 HR, 7 2B, 33 RBI+, 35 H, 24 R
Charlie Morgan, West Springfield, Jr. -- .511 BA, 2 HR, 8 2B, 17 RBI, 23 H, 26 BB
Rutger Floyd, Robinson, Jr. -- .431 BA, .521 OBP, 4 HR, 5 2B, 15 RBI, 21 R
John McGillicuddy, W.T. Woodson, So. -- .437 BA, .467 OBP, 3 HR, 4 2B, 22 RBI, 31 H
Michael Palma, Fairfax, Fr. -- .500 BA, .597 OBP, 7 HR, 7 2B, 19 RBI, 26 H
Nick Impellizzeri, Herndon, Jr. -- .413 BA, .500 OBP, HR, 4 2B, 14 RBI, 26 H, 20 R

PG 2011 Prospect Draft Watch List - MD High School Players was posted in the Maryland site. Anyone able to post the list for VA 2011s?

Problem with all these stats is that they mysteriously come out only at the end of the season, just about the time the All-District ballots come out. Very generous numbers if you look at the TC team stats.

I don't understand why you would embellish RBI's...

If the stats are true, this is who you want to watch out for. Is Matt Kilby committed?

quote:

Problem with all these stats is that they mysteriously come out only at the end of the season, just about the time the All-District ballots come out. Yeah, 33 RBI's is not possible, especially on a team that finished 4th in the District.

Good point, I forgot about them finishing 4th.

These stats are provided by the coaches for their own teams. Some of the books are kept by other players, and SURPRISE, there are no errors by the opposition.

Kilby is good hitter, but you never can tell with some of these numbers.

I am sure the scorekeepers are doing their very best, but I sometimes wonder about the stats. Do any of the districts or leagues employ neutral scorekeepers during the regular season or hold instructional classes for scorekeepers? Do all the scorekeepers really know the rules? Is there a rbi on double plays or an error on a bad throw on the tailend of a double play ball if the lead runner is forced and the batter/runner does not advance beyond first base, etc.

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Originally posted by El gato:
I am sure the scorekeepers are doing their very best, but I sometimes wonder about the stats. Do any of the districts or leagues employ neutral scorekeepers during the regular season or hold instructional classes for scorekeepers? Do all the scorekeepers really know the rules? Is there a rbi on double plays or an error on a bad throw on the tailend of a double play ball if the lead runner is forced and the batter/runner does not advance beyond first base, etc.

Excellent point. Based on that, they may think the stats are legit.

Or this one, El Gato, which I heard a high school coach score. Runner at first, ball popped up deep behind first, runner holds, ball drops in, first base runner thrown out at second. Coach scored it a hit "because the runner should have gone part way". Another one. Fly ball out, runner advances (after tagging)from first to second or second to third (not third to home). A coach scored it a sacrifice. That rule has been gone a while. Scorekeepers should read the scoring rules every spring before they take on the job. It is not that many pages in a rule book.

Simple Solution: The leagues should require coaches to report box scores after each game. Opposing coaches should verify...but even if they don't this would prevent end of the season creative scoring.

WB Reporter, sounds like a hit and rbi sacrifice to me. Just kidding, a fielder choice and an out, but it demonstrates the differences that could arise between a good scorekeeper and an average or poor one. Good illustrations!

eyefortalent1, don't know if that would solve it, although it would make for interesting discussions (or arguments depending on the coaches). Sometimes, the coaches do not know the rules, too.

For the most part, canny scorekeeping aside, these boys are dangerous sluggers. They make good contact and are offensive sparks to their teams.

quote:

Originally posted by justakid:
PG 2011 Prospect Draft Watch List - MD High School Players was posted in the Maryland site. Anyone able to post the list for VA 2011s?

I'm kind of curious myself to see this one

quote:

Originally posted by justakid:
PG 2011 Prospect Draft Watch List - MD High School Players was posted in the Maryland site. Anyone able to post the list for VA 2011s?

PG breaks the state listing of players into 4 groups - Group 1, projected rounds 1-3; Group 2, rounds 4-10; Group 3, rounds 11-25 and Group 4, other = low-round, potential draft, solid college prospect. The first three players on the Maryland posting fall in Groups 2 & 3. The remainder are Group 4.

Virgina's 2011 HS listing from PG with name, HS and college committment for Groups 1-3:
Group 1:
Jake Cave Kecoughtan / LSU
Deshorn Lake Menchville
T.J. Costen First Colonial / South Carolina
Group 2:
Kevin White St. Anne's Belfield / South Carolina
Joe McGillicuddy W.T. Woodson
Nick Thompson Western Branch / East Carolina
Damon Frezza Paul VI
Taylor McConnell Poquoson
Group 3:
Christian Hamlett Cosby
David Spinosa St. Anne's Belfield
Shawn Morimando Ocean Lakes / East Carolina
Matt Kianka Paul VI
(corrected order after PG corrected a numbering glitch)

The current lead article on the Perfect Game web site discusses the depth of talent in Virginia for the 2010 draft.

Back to score keeping, I see a lot of parents keeping score for their kids HS teams, and their kids never get on on an error, they always get scored hits while the other team never gets any hits.

quote:

Originally posted by can-o-corn:
Back to score keeping, I see a lot of parents keeping score for their kids HS teams, and their kids never get on on an error, they always get scored hits while the other team never gets any hits.

Can - I think it was covered above. Bottom line is most folks can identify the top sluggers without stats, and those scorekeepers are not getting away with anything. Everyone is aware who the talent is on their team.

At WB, the father of the head varsity coach keeps the scorebook. Certainly having a nonparent keep the scorebook lends more objectivity and credence to the judgment calls of error, hit, single, double, etc., which can go both for and against the player when a parent keeps the book. (Just as with parents being coaches, sometimes the coach's son is favored and sometimes more is expected from the coach's son; what might not be an error committed by another player can become an error when the fielding is by the son.) It doesn't mean, though,that the nonparent necessarily knows the scoring rules better as illustrated by some of scoring situations that El Gato raised. And, of course, there are certain stats which are objective and not subjective - HRs (the over the fence kind), BB, Ks, being some examples.

quote:

Originally posted by WB Reporter:

quote:

Originally posted by justakid:
PG 2011 Prospect Draft Watch List - MD High School Players was posted in the Maryland site. Anyone able to post the list for VA 2011s?

PG breaks the state listing of players into 4 groups - Group 1, projected rounds 1-3; Group 2, rounds 4-10; Group 3, rounds 11-25 and Group 4, other = low-round, potential draft, solid college prospect. The first three players on the Maryland posting fall in Groups 2 & 3. The remainder are Group 4.

Virgina's 2011 HS listing from PG with name, HS and college committment for Groups 1-3:
Group 1:
Jake Cave Hampton Christian (actually now Kecoughtan) / LSU
Deshorn Lake Menchville
T.J. Costen First Colonial / South Carolina
Group 2:
Damon Frezza Paul VI
Kevin White St. Anne's Belfield / South Carolina
Joe McGillicuddy W.T. Woodson
Nick Thompson Western Branch / East Carolina
Taylor McConnell Poquoson
Group 3:
Christian Hamlett Cosby
David Spinosa St. Anne's Belfield
Shawn Morimando Ocean Lakes / East Carolina
Matt Kianka Paul VI

The current lead article on the Perfect Game web site discusses the depth of talent in Virginia for the 2010 draft.

Two from Paul VI. Very impressive. I'm not familiar with that school. It sounds like they have a very good program.

quote:

Two from Paul VI. Very impressive. I'm not familiar with that school. It sounds like they have a very good program.

VISAA State Champions, Div 1, in baseball for 2008 and 2009. There was a lot of discussion on the school's baseball program recently in another thread.

Comparing the individuals in JC11 posting and WB Reporter posting suggests that stats are not that important to the schools/teams or (maybe just) perfect game. Neither sophomore (now juniors) was (were) listed by perfect game in their projected draftees in the 2011 class (although John's brother, Joe M, was). Keep in mind many names will come and go on this list and other lists, but, more importantly, while most will play college ball and some will be drafted, none may see the major leagues. Let's keep in mind that it is probably more important to do well in school.

Wouldn't one have to attend a PG event in order to be identified?

PVI has an excellent record - I'm not sure how many D1s have come from PVI but it's alot.

I'm curious: Do you have to buy some sort of membership to Perfect Game, or play in a Perfect Game tournament to make this list???

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Originally posted by greenmonstah:
Wouldn't one have to attend a PG event in order to be identified?

PG could provide a more accurate answer but of the ones listed in Virgina 2011 HS Group 4 (not posted here), I am fairly certain, because of knowing the players, that there are a number who have never attended a PG event. I also have seen PG Crosscheckers at nonPG events.

That is correct WB. In looking at the 2012 Class Draft List, there are several players listed who are not on the Crosschecker National or State Rankings. They attend a lot of events other than their own.

Seems very early to be coming up with a 2012 list. There is no way PG has seen all the top 2012 prospects yet.

I think you are right "eye" but I know the 2012's are definately on the radar right now. I know that PG hasn't seen all of the Top 2012's yet and they will never see them all but the ones that they have seen over the past year are getting a jump (IMO). It seems to me that a lot of Colleges follow the PG Crosschecker and their lists pretty closely. Letters and Questionnaires seem to arrive shortly after a lists go up. Could be just a coincidence though. It's just something that I noticed.